By Jonathan Brown
DROMARA Village player-manager James Costello believes his team are “on track” as the first half of the 2024/25 season draws to a close.
Having joined the club in February, replacing Peter Turley, Costello led the villagers to NAFL Premier Division survival last season and he’s content with their current league position of 11th, despite suffering some disappointing cup exits in the opening months of the campaign.
“I was concerned with the amount of league games that would come thick and fast at the start of the season, because we unfortunately picked up quite a few injuries, but in terms of league form, it’s where I want to be.
“It’s always an on the day situation with the cups, so the injuries really hampered us, but I’m not overly disappointed with some of the performances we’ve put in.
“But ultimately we need to focus on the league and improve that year on year, so we’re where I want to be and on track,” Costello said.
Costello, a former Irish League striker with Glenavon, Ballymena United and Dungannon Swifts, has been forced to don the jersey more times than he would have liked this season due to injury problems at Bellsbridge, but he’s hoping he can take his seat in the dugout again soon.
“I didn’t anticipate it (playing as much) but we lost Patrick Shearer for just over two months as a striking option, and Phillip Kerr had an ongoing hamstring issue.
“Whenever you lose two of your three strikers, I just thought a short-term fix would be me playing, maybe scoring a few goals and dropping into midfield a little bit.
“But now that Patrick and Philly are back, the plan is to go back into a backseat role and the feet are going back up!”
In the full articel Costello explains how his options have opened up dramatically in the past month.
